April 23, 2007

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. - After shooting a solid 289 and finishing tied for second in after one round of the 2007 Big West Men's Golf Championship at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., UC Santa Barbara struggled to a 308 in the second round and fell into seventh, six shots out of sixth-place with a 597.

Freshmen Brian Hollenbeck and Matt Grush led the Gauchos. Hollenbeck shot even-par 72 in the first round and 1-over par 73 in the second to finish at 145 for the day, tying him for 12th-place among individuals. Grush was 1-under par after one round and then shot a 5-over 77 in the second to card a 4-over par 148 through two rounds. He is tied for 16th.

Sophomore Tony Verna and senior Joe Ryon each shot 8-over par 152s to tie for 23rd after two rounds. Ryon actually hit an even-par 72 in the first round but then had an 8-over par 80 in round two. Sophomore Marty Melcher was 13-over par at 157 through two rounds.

The UC Irvine men's team, seeded No. 1 entering the tournament, proved that to be an accurate gage after two rounds. The Anteaters shot a 14-under par 562 and hold a massive 22-stroke lead over second-place Pacific. Cal Poly is in third at 586.

Individually, UCI's John Chin and Long Beach State's Brett Lederer each shot 9-under par 135 to share the lead. Cal Poly's Colin Peck is third a 5-under par 139.

The third and final round will be played on Tuesday morning beginning at 8:45 a.m.